Paper Dolls

Oh the joy of an out dated Sears catalogue and a pair of good sharp scissors. Once my mom was finished with an issue of the Sears Catalogue we loved to pour over its pages. We would choose girls or ladies that had both of their arms visible, and both of their legs. Sometimes this was hard to do as the models were often posed in groups but we did the best we could. We would cut our choices out and then start the task of trying to find outfits that fit. What fun we would have, so many pretty dresses and other outfits, gorgeous nightgowns and shoes. We learned to cut little tabs so the clothes stayed on.

Next we would set up households. Sears Catalogues had absolutely everything except groceries, and the Christmas ones even sold cakes and things. The bedrooms, model kitchens and living rooms were everything a small girl could dream up.

Alas, that era is over. Very few companies even make catalogues anymore, especially not ones of the magnitude that the Sears catalogue was.

We can still buy paper dolls though. Especially charming are the vintage paper dolls from the 1950s and 60s. If you know where to look you can find many of these treasures.

I found a few not so vintage ones that you can grab for your creative kids. The doll is printed in color but the clothes are in black and white so that you can copy the pictures over and over and make all kinds of outfit variations. I would print the initial doll in a heavy cardstock and then print subsequent copies in plain copy paper to make them easier to cut.